oh look an update

~ Brin ~ 2 Comments

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{{I’m deliberately leaving the line-breaks weird because they were weird in the original, and in a way that helps get the post’s point across.}}

sdhs-rationalist:

brin-bellway:

Okay, what the fuck is going on? I can’t edit my posts, I *can’t make new
posts*, I *can’t reblog posts*. Nothing happens when I press any of those
buttons. If I press reblog while on the post’s permalink page, it takes me
to a “reblogging” page, but the draft of the reblog doesn’t appear: all I
can see is my dashboard, which is supposed to just be in the background.
Oh, and clicking the “account” button on the top bar doesn’t do anything
either.

Liking posts still works. This clearly isn’t happening to *everyone*,
because @sdhs-rationalist has made multiple reblogs since this started
happening to me. (I noticed it maybe half an hour ago, but it’s possible
it’s been happening all day and I just didn’t try to do anything that would
set it off until recently.)

I’m going to try using the post-by-email function. Let’s see what happens.

(It said I can add tags by writing hashtags at the bottom of the post, so
I’ll give that a shot.)

Hmmmm…maybe log into a new account?  

…and the reblog button appears to have magically started functioning again, sometime in the past couple of minutes. Let me go see if I can do the editing I wanted.

Yep, it works. It seems the lockout has ended as it began: for no apparent fucking reason.

Tags:

#oh look an update #The Great Tumblr Apocalypse

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~ Brin ~ 2 Comments

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wirehead-wannabe:

Carson + Paul is obviously the best choice. Heal the world + never worry about being sick or getting STDs + end the drug war. Only downside is spending three hours a day praying, which is honestly the easiest downside to deal with.

Also I think Paul’s running mate bonus is supposed to say “decriminalization” in the last paragraph.

Taken from /u/annextasia at https://www.reddit.com/r/makeyourchoice/comments/4gtu83/2016_gop_nomination_cyoa_oc/

 

psybersecurity:

Kasich is better than Carson I think. If you have a legion of 11 million loyal followers willing to heed your beck and call you could do pretty much anything and it would be a lot more fun than standing around all day touching people and feeling guilty every second that you’re doing anything else

I’m trying to figure out why Ted’s running mate bonus is supposed to be a good thing lol

 

wirehead-wannabe:

I mean you could probably earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a day curing AIDS and cancer if you really just wanted to use it on yourself. Which is arguably just as good if not better than having 11 million loyal followers.

 

socialjusticemunchkin:

Or you could tax the ohioans just a few dollars a day each to earn a hundred times more.

Assuming “Ohio” means the legal state of Ohio, and not “the territory which currently forms the state of Ohio”, Kasich/Paul is totally OP and broken.

First, I legalize individuals and communities choosing which state to belong to democratically. The other states may whine, but governance only with the consent of the governed doesn’t violate basic rights, so with Paul I can totally do it.

Then I end the drug war. In Ohio, because I’ve legalized states setting their own drug laws.

I decriminalize states setting their own immigration rules, and open the borders in Ohio, defining ohioans as “anyone present in Ohio, or who announces their decision to join Ohio, or who has previously fulfilled either condition and has not renounced their ohioanness” (thus, making me immune to assassinations as anyone who would try to do it would have to travel to Ohio, become ohioan, and stop wanting to assassinate me and start wanting to protect me instead).

Then I implement a basic income in Ohio (for those who have been ohioans for a sufficient amount of time, as I have previously suggested). And all the other cool stuff, in Ohio.

Everyone would give anything for the cause, so I ask the people to be excellent to each other, and otherwise be free to do whatever they want as long as they don’t deprive others of the same right (but if they wish to give to charity they really should prioritize EA instead of Make-a-Wish). Crime in Ohio plummets to zero, and so does poverty, deprivation, and coercion. The economy gets an immense boom from the immigrants, and the abolition of zero-sum and negative-sum bullshit games, and all people working together for their prosperity, like a weird libertarian (or, in fact, full-blown anarchist in all but name) version of North Korea’s propaganda films come true.

The obvious consequence is that a lot of people would want to be a part of Ohio. Just as planned. It won’t take long until Ohio has a population of approximately 200 million and covers a vast fractal shape encompassing most of the major cities.

Then I become the president of the US in the most overwhelming election since Washington, seize control of all brances of the government, and turn my Paul powers to international law instead. Rinse repeat with a bit more restraint to not provoke a nuclear war, and I’ll soon have acquired most of the Americas, the major liberal cities of Europe, and vast swathes of territory in Africa as well (I’m deliberately not touching Russia or China because that way lies armageddon), in this only-nominally-stateful community of freedom and dignity.

It’s immune to invasions because open borders mind control magic, it’s immune to terrorism because surely you wouldn’t want to hurt your fellow ohioans, it’s immune to pretty much everything except ICBMs. For ICBMs my policy will be a clear and ruthless MAD if attacked, but otherwise non-interference in the affairs of the other superpower and the little regional Shitholistan with a superiority complex propped up by its ridiculous nuclear arsenal. In fact, I can afford a comparably submissive foreign policy, letting Russia pick the arctic oil and China get whatever gas fields it wants because our anarchist regime is too rich to care about such slim pickings.

We’re going to outer space instead. All the labor and ingenuity currently wasted in pointless things will be redirected in a program of technology and space colonization (and AI research but I’m assuming no FAI because it kind of cuts everything short and turns things boring). We’re going to cure all the diseases, conquer the Moon, Mars, and everywhere. We’re going to win.

A wise man once asked: “Why does everything always end in world domination with you guys?”

The rationalist answered: “Have you ever tried giving us a scenario that did not have world domination built in?”

To the US I came seeking fortune
But they’re making me work til I’m dead
The congressmen have it so easy
The bankers put gold on their bread
The people of the world are so hungry
But think what a feast there could be
If we could create an anarchist state
That cared for the people like me: 

I am the man who arranges the blocks
That descend upon me from up above.
They come down and I spin them around
Til they fit in the ground like hand in glove.
Sometimes it seems that to move blocks is fine
And the lines will be formed as they fall –
Then I see that I have misjudged it!
I should not have nudged it after all.

Can I have a long one please?
Why must these infernal blocks tease?

I am the man who arranges the blocks
That continue to fall from up above.
Come Ohioan! To the every last one!
An individualist regime of peace and love.
I work so hard in arranging the blocks
But the landlord and taxman bleed me dry
But Ohio will rise! We will not compromise
For we know that the old regime must die.

Long live freedom, burn the flags!
We salute the orange and black!

I am the man who arranges the blocks
That continue to fall from up above.
The food on your plate no concern of the state
An individualist regime of peace and love.
I have my choice in arranging the blocks
Under promethean rule, what you say goes.
The rule of the game is our rights are the same
And my blocks can make my own-shaped rows.

Long live Ohio! It loves you!
Sing these words, you know what it’ll do…

I am the man who arranges the blocks
That are made by the men from Shitholistan.
They came two weeks ago and back there they won’t go
Now they’re working to our world conquest plan.
I am the man who arranges the nukes
That will make all the Putin keep away
The hopes have come back, and ‘Murica is Black!
Let us point all our dollars at EA.

We shall live forever more!
We can start an altruism war!

I am the man who arranges the blocks
That are building a highly secret base.
Hip hip hurray for the AS of A!
We are sending our men to outer space.

 

ilzolende:

This is #amazing, you are #amazing, 10/10.

Note to self: Sing this when I have microphone access.

Also, orange-and-black is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutualism_(economic_theory), yes?

 

brin-bellway:

“Every single man, woman, child, and animal in Ohio” (emphasis added)

See the loophole?

That’s right, folks: nonbinary assassins.

(Furthermore, if we’re going to play with definitions as much as “Ohio” has been played with, perhaps the resistance could have elaborate coming-of-age rituals, without which one is not considered to be truly adult, and then deliberately keep binary people in a liminal state where they are old enough not to be children*, but since they haven’t completed the rituals they’re not men/women yet.)

(Might also be able to get some stuff done through gender abolitionism, which I seem to recall Promethea favours? So there could still be some benefit in this from their perspective depending on the resistance’s methods.)

(But nonbinary assassins would still be the quickest and easiest method, because we already have some nonbinary adults readily available and wouldn’t need to spend precious time training people out of old thought patterns regarding the meaning of adulthood and/or gender.)

*For obvious reasons, the definition of “child” should be made as narrow as possible.

Mind you, it never says the mind-control spell breaks upon the death
of the mind-controller, and the word “permanent” implies it doesn’t.

This makes things trickier.

Tags:

#oh look an update #we *might* be able to simply dissolve Ohio once Promethea’s not in the way #but even if we could pull it off it might not be enough

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~ Brin ~ 2 Comments

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*switches blockquote to italics*

*presses “preview on blog” button*

*preview shows the original ask as anonymous (I sent it non-anonymously) with raw-code apostrophes and quotation marks, shows the original answer as my own contribution, and does not show anything after the original answer*

…you know what, I’m just going to leave it. Remind me never to use blockquotes again.

(On the other hand, when I press the “edit” button, make no changes, and press “preview on blog”, it does the same thing, so it might not reflect what would actually happen. Still not sure I want to risk it.)

Tags:

#oh look an original post #oh look an update #Tumblr: a User’s Guide #sexuality and lack thereof #(I didn’t originally tag it that) #(but I want anyone looking through that tag to see these two posts before the messed-up one) #(so they know what to expect)

~ Brin ~ 3 Comments

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Okay, so apparently while my previous post looks fine on the dash, if you look at my blog my use of a blockquote fucks up the order of the thread (the answer to the original ask doesn’t appear until just before my blockquote). I’ll try editing it to italics.

{{The WordPress import was likewise fucked up, but this time I was able to fix it.}}

Tags:

#oh look an original post #oh look an update #Tumblr: a User’s Guide #sexuality and lack thereof #(I didn’t originally tag it that) #(but I want anyone looking through that tag to see these two posts before the messed-up one) #(so they know what to expect)

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Image ~ ~ Brin ~ 1 Comment

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angels-are-watching:

Can we please talk about how our history teacher sent a barbie to the smithsonian as proof of the presence of man two million years ago

 

bonequeer:

pleas,e for the love of God read the whole letter, there are tears streamign down my face rn

 

derinthemadscientist:

Can we please talk about how your history teacher has done this sort of thing enough times that he has his own specimen shelf in the Smithsonian

 

theverysarcasticscientist:

“yours in science” tho

 

sinesalvatorem:

“B. Clams don’t have teeth” is the part where I lost it.

 

stimmyabby:

@zozi-writes

 

coffiend-jackalope:

The letter says:

“Thank you for your latest submission to the Institute, labeled “211-D, layer seven, next to the clothesline post. Hominid skull.” We have gien this specimen a careful and detailed examination and regret to inform you that we disagree with you theory that it represents ‘conclusive proof of the presence of Early Man in Charleston County two million years ago.’ Rather, it appears that what you have found is the head of a Barbie doll, of the variety one of our staff, who has small children, believes to be the ‘Malibu Barbie’. It is evident that you have given a great deal of thought to the analysis of this specimen, and you may be quite certain that those of us who are familiar with your prior work in the field were loathe to come to contradiction with your findings. However, we do feel that there are a number of physical attributes of the specimen which might have tipped you off to it’s modern origin:

  1. The material is molded plastic. Ancient hominid remains are typically fossilized bone.
  2. The cranial capacity of the specimen is approximately 9 cubic centimeters, well below the threshold of even the earliest identified proto-hominids.
  3. The dentition patters evident on the ‘skull’ is more consistent with the common domesticated dog than it is with the ‘ravenous man-eating Pliocene clams’ you speculate roamed the wetlands during that time.This latter finding is certainly one of the most intriguing hypotheses you have submitted in your history with this institution, but the evidence seems to weigh rather heavily against it. Without going into too much detail, let us say that:
  • A) The specimen looks like the head of a Barbie doll that a dog has chewed on.
  • Clams don’t have teeth.

It is with feelings tinged with melancholy that we must deny your request to have the specimen carbon dated. This is partially due to the heavy load our lab must bear in it’s normal operation, and partly due to carbon dating’s notorious inaccuracy in fossils of recent geologic record. To the best of our knowledge, no Barbie dolls were produced prior to 1956 AD, and carbon dating is likely to produce wildly inaccurate results. Sadly , we must also deny your request that we approach the National Science Foundation’s Phylogeny Department with the concept of assigning your specimen the scientific name ‘Australopithecus spiff-arino.’ Speaking personally, I for one, fought tenaciously for the acceptance of your proposed taxonomy, but was ultimately voted down because the species name you selected was hyphenated, and didn’t really sound like it might be Latin.

However, we gladly accept your generous donation of this fascinating specimen to the museum. While it is undoubtedly not a hominid fossil, it is, nonetheless, yet another riveting example of the great body of work you seem to accumulate here so effortlessly. You should know that our Director has reserved a special shelf in his own office for the display of the specimens you have previously submitted to the Institution, and the entire staff speculates daily on what you will happen upon next in your digs at the site you have discovered in your back yard. We eagerly anticipate your trip to or nation’s capital that you proposed in you last letter, and several of us are pressing the Director to pay for it. We are particularly interested in hearing you expand on your theories surrounding the ‘trans-positating fillifitation of ferrous ions in a structural matrix’ that makes the excellent juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex femur you recently discovered take on the deceptive appearance of a rusty 9-mm Sears Craftsman automotive crescent wrench.

Yours in Science,

Harvey Rowe

Curator, Antiquities”

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(sorry if there are misspellings or wrong wordings. this was long and i was reading it off my phone)

 

logic-and-art:

“I for one, fought tenaciously for the acceptance of your proposed taxonomy, but was ultimately voted down because the species name you selected was hyphenated, and didn’t really sound like it might be Latin.“

 

moonlitmoor:

@glumshoe

 

smithsonian:

We give a lot of credit to whoever wrote this, but we can say with certainty that we haven’t been given any Barbie doll heads for our paleoanthropology department. (@amhistorymuseum​ does have plenty of Barbies, all with bodies too.)

But we have been offered some interesting things over the years. A few examples: a corn flake in the shape of Illinois, a two-legged dog, and the world’s longest beard.

We took the beard.

Yours in science,

The Smithsonian

Tags:

#can’t say I’m surprised #but then this was never really about the literal truth value anyway #you’ve probably seen this before #Tumblr traditions #(pre-Tumblr traditions too) #(I looked it up and apparently this letter dates back to 1994) #oh look an update

~ Brin ~ 1 Comment

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@justice-turtle

Although, thinking about the timing of that 60kg period for Light Sprites, I suppose it’s possible it was because of Brightshine? I wouldn’t want to bet on it, but I can’t rule it out.

Tags:

#oh look an update #oh look an original post #Flight Rising #not adding it as a postscript on the previous post because JT already read it

~ Brin ~ 1 Comment

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Okay, fodder finally sold (I had to drop most of them to 29k and wait an additional half-hour, but eventually they went), spent all my treasure on gene scrolls, time to go to bed.

I think tomorrow I might go through my alert history, auction listings, and hoard and count up how many genes I’ll have flipped by the time I’m done. I haven’t directly kept track of scroll-flipping profits because it’d slow me down too much, so number-of-scrolls is the best I can do.

Tags:

#Flight Rising #oh look an update #this concludes your dragon-capitalism liveblogging for tonight #oh look an original post